The following is from Miller Motorsports Park..The buzz surrounding the first all-women Yamaha Champions Riding School just ratcheted up a notch: AMA Pro Road Racing star Melissa Paris and the legendary Scott Russell will be at the two-day school on August 17-18 at Miller Motorsports Park as Guest Instructors!
These two accomplished riders have previously spent time at the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and jumped at the chance to help women riders improve their skills. Paris is consistently impressive in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship and was a wild-card qualifier for the FIM World Supersport Championship at Miller Motorsports Park in 2010.
She will join Russell – the former AMA Pro Superbike and World Superbike Champion nicknamed “Mr. Daytona” for his five wins in the Daytona 200 – as Guest Instructors, augmenting the Yamaha Champions Riding School’s lauded curriculum that focuses on each student’s goals. The school is limited to 18 riders, plus another 20 women who would like to sit in on the classes as auditors. The 20 auditor spots are aimed at women who are considering riding but would like to learn more before taking that step.
“The 20 ‘audit’ spots were included because our school’s in-class curriculum makes sense,” Chief Instructor Nick Ienatsch said. “So many people want to mystify motorcycle riding, and it’s our goal to explain it in clear, everyday language. Over the years, we’ve had potential riders sit in on the class, and each of them has left with a clear understanding of how the bike and rider work together to control speed and direction…and they have gone on to buy bikes and enjoy this sport. I wish we could have every new or potential motorcycle rider in the country sit in our classroom, watch the videos, get a two-up ride…let the how’s and why’s of motorcycle riding soak into their brains. It would save a lot of crashes, save our industry… and literally save lives. There are solid, explainable reasons why good riders are good…and why drama happens.”
Ienatsch is joined by an all-star instructor crew at every Yamaha Champions Riding School: Ken Hill, Dale Keiffer, Shane Turpin and Mark Schellinger. “These guys know how tough this sport is. They understand how hard they worked to get good…and I mean winning championships, setting track records and making it to breakfast every Sunday morning,” Ienatsch said. “Their only goal at the school is to help students ride better. That’s it. When we add in Scott Russell and Melissa Paris, the women’s school will be fantastic. And we’re hoping a few surprise Guest Instructors show up, too!”
The first day of the women’s school will not end on the track. “We’ll move to the garages in the evening and put on some special clinics aimed at the challenges motorcyclists face,” Ienatsch continued. “How to pull the wheels from your bike. Lube the chain. Change the oil. Load and unload….and a few other clinics that short-cut the learning curve of our students. The Yamaha Champions Riding School’s Operations Manager, Jill Giles, is a championship-winning crew chief, and she knows women can be extremely good on the mechanical side. Most women riders don’t grow up around bikes, so these clinics will get them up to speed with detailed and pointed instruction from experts. We want these two days to be more than just lapping a track. We aim to change the motorcycling lives of our students, to bring them understanding and command of this sport.”
The Yamaha Champions Riding School’s first annual women-only class will be fun, in a non-intimidating environment, for riders of all levels who want to take the next step in their riding. Interested students should sign up soon, before all the available spots are reserved.
For more information about the Yamaha Champions Riding School, go to www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com or call 435.27.SPEED (277-7333).
